Outline

2.1 SIGNALS

2.2 SIGNAL IMPAIRMENT

2.3 DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

2.4 ANALOG TRANSMISSION

2.5 MULTIPLEXING

2.6 TRANSMISSION MEDIA

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 Figure 2.1 Communication at the physical layer

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 2-1 SIGNALS

What is exchanged between Alice and Bob is data, but what goes
through the network at the physical layer is signals.

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 Figure 2.2 Comparison of analog and digital signals

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 2.1.1 Analog Signal

An analog signal can take one of the two forms: periodic or

aperiodic. In data communication, we normally use periodic
signals. A simple periodic signal, a sine wave, cannot be
decomposed into simpler signals.

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 Figure 2.3 A sine wave

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 Peak Amplitude

The peak amplitude of a signal is the absolute value of its highest

intensity.

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 Period and Frequency

The period (T) refers to the amount of time, in seconds, that a

signal needs to complete one cycle. The frequency (f), measured in
Hertz (Hz), refers to the number of periods in one second. Note that
period and frequency are just one characteristic defined in two
ways. Period and frequency are inverse of each other, in other
words (f = 1/ T).

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 Example 2.1

The voltage of a battery is constant. However, this can be

considered as periodic with frequency of 0 and period of infinity.

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 Phase

The term phase describes the position of the waveform relative to

time 0. If we think of the wave as something that can be shifted
backward or forward along the time axis, phase describes the
amount of that shift.

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 Wavelength

The wavelength is the distance a simple signal can travel in one

period. Wavelength binds the period or the frequency of a simple
sine wave to the propagation speed in the medium. If we represent
wavelength by l, propagation speed by c, and frequency by f, and
period by T, we get

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 Time and Frequency Domain

A sine waves is comprehensively defined by its amplitude,

frequency, and phase. This can be done in both time and frequency
domain.

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 Figure 2.4 The time-domain and frequency-domain plots of a
sine wave

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 Composite Signal

• So far, we have focused on simple sine waves. A composite

signal is made of many simple sine waves.
• The range of frequencies contained in a composite signal is its
bandwidth. The bandwidth of a signal is the difference between
the lowest and highest frequencies in the signal.

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 Bandwidth 1

The range of frequencies contained in a composite signal is its

bandwidth. The bandwidth of a signal is the difference between the
lowest and highest frequencies in the signal.

The bandwidth of a composite signal is the difference between

the highest and the lowest frequencies contained in that signal.

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 2.1.2 Digital Signal

Information can also be represented by a digital signal. For

example, a value 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage and a
value 0 as zero voltage. A digital signal can have more than two
levels. In this case, we can send more than 1 bit for each level.
Figure 2.5 shows two signals, one with two levels and the other
with four.

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 Figure 2.5 Two digital signals, one with two and one with four
bit-levels

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 Bit Rate

Most digital signal are nonperiodic, and thus period and frequency
are not appropriate characteristics. Another term-bit rate (instead
of frequency) is used. The bit rate is the number of bits sent in 1
second.

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 Example 2.3

Assume we have downloaded text documentation at the rate of 100

pages per minute. A page is an average of 24 lines with 80
characters per line. If we assume that one character requires 8 bits,
the bit rate is:

(100 * 24 * 80 * 8)/60 = 25600 bps

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 Bit Length

We discuss the concept of a wavelength for an analog signal. We

can define something similar for a digital signal: the bit length. The
bit length is the distance one bit occupy on the transmission
medium.

bit length = 1 / bit rate

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 Example 2.4

The length of the bit in Example 2.3 is

1 / 25600 = 0.000039 microseconds

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 Transmission of Digital Signal

A digital signal is a composite analog signal with frequency

between zero and infinity. We can have two types of transmission:
baseband and broadband. The first means sending the digital
signal without changing it to analog signal. The second means
changing the digital signal to analog signal and send the analog
signal.

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 2-2 SIGNAL IMPAIRMENT

Signals travel through transmission media, which are not perfect.

The imperfection causes signal impairment. This means that the
signal at the beginning of the medium is not the same as the signal
at the end of the medium. What is sent is not what is received.
Three causes of impairment are attenuation, distortion, and noise.

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 2.2.1 Attenuation and Amplification

Attenuation means a loss of energy. To compensate for this loss we

need amplification. When a signal, simple or composite, travels
through a medium, it loses some of its energy in overcoming the
resistance of the medium. To compensate for this loss, we need
amplification. Figure 2.6 shows the effect of attenuation and
amplification.

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 Figure 2.6 Attenuation and amplification

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 Example 2.5

Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium and its

power is reduced to one half. This means that P2 = 0.5 P1. In this
case, the attenuation (loss of power) can be calculated as

A loss of 3 dB (−3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half the power.

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 2.2.2 Distortion

Distortion means that the signal changes its form or shape.

Distortion can occur in a composite signal made up of different
frequencies.

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 Noise

Noise is another cause of impairment. Several type of noise may

occur during the signal transmission.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is defined as

SNR = (average signal power) / (average noise power)

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 2.2.3 Data Rate Limits

A very important consideration in data communications is how fast

we can send data, in bits per second, over a channel. Data rate
depends on three factors:
1. The bandwidth available
2. The level of the signals we use
3. The quality of the channel (the level of noise)
Two theoretical formulas were developed to calculate the data rate:
one by Nyquist for a noiseless channel, another by Shannon for a
noisy channel.

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 Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate

For a noiseless channel, the Nyquist bit rate formula defines the
theoretical maximum bit rate.

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 Example 2.6

We need to send 265 kbps over a noiseless (ideal) channel with a

bandwidth of 20 kHz. How many signal levels do we need? We can
use the Nyquist formula as shown:

Since this result is not a power of 2, we need to either increase the

number of levels or reduce the bit rate. If we have 128 levels, the
bit rate is 280 kbps. If we have 64 levels, the bit rate is 240 kbps.

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 Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity

For a noisy channel, we have

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 Example 2.7

Consider an extremely noisy channel in which the value of the

signal-to-noise ratio is almost zero. In other words, the noise is so
strong that the signal is faint. For this channel the capacity C is
calculated as shown below.

This means that the capacity of this channel is zero regardless of

the bandwidth. In other words, the data is so corrupted in this
channel that it is useless when received.

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 Using Both Limits

In practice, we need to use both limits.

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 Example 2.9

We have a channel with a 1-MHz bandwidth. The SNR for this

channel is 63. What are the appropriate bit rate and signal level?

Solution
First, we use the Shannon formula to find the upper limit.

The Shannon formula gives us 6 Mbps, the upper limit. For better performance
we choose something lower, 4 Mbps, for example. Then we use the Nyquist
formula to find the number of signal levels.

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 2.2.4 Performance

Up to now, we have discussed the tools of transmitting data

(signals) over a network and how the data behave. One important
issue in networking is the performance of the network—how good
is it?

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 Bandwidth 2

One characteristic that measure network performance is

bandwidth.

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 Example 2.11

For example, one can say that the bandwidth of a fast Ethernet
network is 100 Mbps. This means we can send 100 Mbps through
this network.

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 Throughput

The throughput is the measure of how fast we can actually send

data through a network.

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 Latency (Delay)

The latency or delay defines how long it takes for an entire message
to completely arrive at the destination from the time the first bit is
sent out from the source. We say that normally have four types of
delay: propagation delay, transmission delay, queuing delay, and
processing delay. The latency or total delay is

Latency = propagation delay + transmission delay + queuing delay

+ processing delay

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 Bandwidth-Delay Product

Bandwidth and delay are two performance metric of a link.

However, what is very important in data communications is the
product of the two, the bandwidth-delay product.

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 Example 2.12

We can think about the link between two points as a pipe. We can
say that the volume of the pipe defines the bandwidth-delay
product

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 Figure 2.7 Bandwidth-delay product

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 Jitter

Another performance issue that is related to delay is jitter. We can

roughly say that jitter is a problem if different packets of data
encounter different delays and the application using the data at the
receiver site is time-sensitive (audio and video data, for example).
If the delay for the first packet is 20 ms, for the second is 45 ms,
and for the third is 40 ms, then the real-time application that uses
the packets endures jitter.

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 2-3 DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

A computer network is designed to send information from one point

to another. This information needs to be converted to either a
digital signal or an analog signal for transmission. In this section,
we discuss the first choice, conversion to digital signals; in the next
section, we discuss the second choice, conversion to analog signals.

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 2.3.1 Digital-to-Digital Conversion

In this section, we see how we can represent digital data by using

digital signals. The conversion involves three techniques: line
coding, block coding, and scrambling. Line coding is always
needed; block coding and scrambling may or may not be needed.

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 Line Coding

Line coding is the process of converting digital data to digital

signals. We assume that data, in the form of text, numbers,
graphical images, audio, or video, are stored in computer memory
as sequences of bits.

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 Figure 2.8 Line coding and decoding

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 2.3.2 Analog-to-Digital Conversion

Sometimes we have an analog signal such as one created by a

microphone or camera. The tendency today is to change an analog
signal to digital data because the digital signal is less susceptible
to noise. In this section we describe two techniques, pulse code
modulation and delta modulation.

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 Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

The most common technique to change to change an analog signal

to a digital signal is called pulse code modulation (PCM) , as
shown in Figure 2.9.

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 Figure 2.9 Components of PCM encoder

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 2-4 ANALOG TRANSMISSION

While digital transmission is desirable, it needs a low-pass

channel; analog transmission is the only choice if we have a
bandpass channel. Converting digital data to a bandpass analog
signal is traditionally called digital-to-analog conversion.
Converting a low-pass analog signal to a bandpass analog signal is
traditionally called analog-to-analog conversion.

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 2.4.1 Digital-to-Analog Conversion

Digital-to-analog conversion is the process of changing one of the

characteristics of an analog signal based on the information in
digital data.

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 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

In amplitude shift keying, the amplitude of the carrier signal is

varied to create signal elements.

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 Figure 2.11 Binary amplitude shift keying

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 Frequency Shift Keying

In frequency shift keying, the frequency of the carrier signal is

varied to represent data.

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 Figure 2.12 Binary frequency shift keying

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 Phase Shift Keying

In phase shift keying, the phase of the carrier signal is varied to

represent data.

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 Figure 2.13 Binary phase shift keying

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 2.4.2 Analog-to-Analog Conversion

Analog-to-analog conversion, or analog modulation, is the

representation of analog information by an analog signal. One may
ask why we need to modulate an analog signal; it is already
analog. Modulation is needed if the medium is bandpass in nature
or if only a bandpass channel is available to us.

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 Amplitude Modulation (AM)

In amplitude modulation, the amplitude of the carrier signal

changes to follow the changes in modulating signal.

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 Figure 2.14 Amplitude modulation

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 Frequency Modulation (FM)

In frequency modulation, the frequency of carrier signal changes to

follow the changes in the modulating signal.

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 Figure 2.15 Frequency modulation

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 Phase Modulation (PM)

In phase modulation, the phase of carrier signal changes to follow

the changes in the modulating signal.

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 Figure 2.16 Phase modulation

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 2-5 MULTIPLEXING

In real life, we have links with limited bandwidths. Sometimes we

need to combine several low-bandwidth channels to make use of
one channel with a larger bandwidth. Sometimes we need to expand
the bandwidth of a channel to achieve goals such as privacy and
anti-jamming.

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 Figure 2.17 Dividing a link into channels

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 2.5.1 Frequency-Division Multiplexing

Frequency-division multiplexing is an analog technique that can be

applied when the bandwidth of a link is greater than the combined
bandwidth of the signals to be transmitted together.

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 Figure 2.18 Frequency-division multiplexing

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 2.5.2 Time-Division Multiplexing

Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a digital technique that

allows several connections to share the high bandwidth of a link.

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 Figure 2.19 Time division multiplexing (TDM)

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 2-6 TRANSMISSION MEDIA

We discussed many issues related to the physical layer in this

chapter. In this section, we discuss transmission media.
Transmission media are located below the physical layer and are
directly controlled by the physical layer.

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 Figure 2.20 Transmission media and physical layer

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 2.6.1 Guided Media

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one
device to another, include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and
fiber-optic cable.

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 Twisted-Pair Cable

A twisted-pair cable consists of two conductors, each with its own

plastic insulation, twisted together as shown in Figure 2.21.

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 Figure 2.21 Twisted-pair cable

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 Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable carries signals of higher frequency ranges more than

those in twisted-pair cable. Coaxial cable has a central core
enclosed in an insulating sheath as shown in Figure 2.22.

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 Figure 2.22 Coaxial cable

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 Fiber-Optic Cable

A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signal

in the form of light. If a light traveling in a substance enters
another substance, the ray changes direction as shown in Figure
2.23. Figure 2.24 shows how a beam of light travels through an
optical fiber.

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 Figure 2.23 Bending of light ray

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 Figure 2.24 Optical fiber

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 2.6.2 Unguided Media: Wireless

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a

physical conductor. This type of communication is often referred to
as wireless communication. Signals are normally broadcast
through free space and thus are available to anyone who has a
device capable of receiving them. Figure 2.25 shows part of the
electromagnetic spectrum from 3KHz to 800 THz used for wireless
communication.

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 Figure 2.25 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless
communication

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 Radio Waves

Although there is no clear-cut demarcation between radio waves

and microwaves, electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies
between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are normally called radio waves; waves
ranging in frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called
microwaves. However, the behavior of the waves, rather than the
frequencies, is a better criterion for classification. Radio waves, for
the most part, are omnidirectional.

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 Microwaves

Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz

are called microwaves. Microwaves are unidirectional. When an
antenna transmits microwaves, they can be narrowly focused. This
means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned.
The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage. A pair of
antennas can be aligned without interfering with another pair of
aligned antennas.

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 Infrared

Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz

(wavelengths from 1 mm to 770 nm), can be used for short-range
communication. Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot
penetrate walls. This advantageous characteristic prevents
interference between one system and another; a short-range
communication system in one room cannot be affected by another
system in the next room.

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